Galway mum’s greatest gift
A Galway mother has revealed the remarkable story of how she donated a portion of her liver to her then-five-year-old son – saving his life in the process.
Denise Fahy Rabbitte from Colemanstown donated a portion of her liver to her son Iarla in 2022 – bringing to an end years of waiting and wishing for the lifesaving gift that would give the little boy a normal life.
Because soon after Iarla was born, his parents Denise and Stephen learned he had Biliary Atresia, a rare and serious liver condition affecting newborns.
And at just two years old, he was placed on the liver transplant list, as the long wait for a donor began.
Iarla was under the care of Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin, but because paediatric liver transplants are not carried out in Ireland, his case had to be managed through coordination between the skillful team at Crumlin Hospital and the transplant hospital in Kings College Hospital in London.
For three years, his family waited as their son’s health deteriorated – hoping for a call that never came.
Eventually, after initial resistance from the medical team, they agreed to assess Denise as a living donor.
Despite being diagnosed with haemochromatosis which is a condition that causes iron overload and can affect liver health, she was approved after rigorous testing.
“I knew I had to try. Even with the risks, the idea that I could give Iarla a future was more powerful than any fear. It’s an amazing feeling as a mother to know I could help,” says Denise.
She is telling her story to highlight the life-changing impact of organ donation – particularly during Organ Donor Awareness Week which runs all this week across the country.
For more information on the Awareness campaign or to obtain an organ donor card visit www.ika.ie/donorweek/
Caption: Iarla Fahy Rabbitte from Colemanstown, with his liver donor mother Denise Fahy and gran Bernie Fahy, his brother Donagh and sister Delia.
Read Iarla’s story – and those of other inspiring organ recipients – in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.